History of the ILU
The Institute was set up in 1884 as the trade association for the company market specialising in marine, aviation and transportation insurance business. In 1986 the companies who made up the membership of the Institute joined together under one roof to form a marketplace where insurance brokers could broke their business with insurance companies in the same way as they did at Lloyd’s.
The ILU building in Leadenhall Street/Billiter Street had insurance companies who were the Institute’s members trading on five of the seven floors. The Institute was funded by way of subscription from its member companies and also by charges levied on throughput of business where ILU policies were issued on behalf of the companies subscribing to co-insurance risks.
At the end of 1998 the ILU merged with LIRMA (the London Insurance and Reinsurance Market Association) which was the trade association acting for non-marine insurance companies. This move was driven by companies who wrote both marine and non-marine business and saw the value in having one trade association to represent them and to act as an administrative and policy signing and accounting bureau.
Thus the IUA (the International Underwriting Association of London) was set up on 1 January 1999 and all the ILU’s then members ceased their membership of the Institute and became members of the IUA.